Standard Form Four Fours Maths Puzzle

A Four Fours card sort for standard form. Sixteen cards show four different values, each written four ways: in standard form, as an ordinary number, as 3.2 million, or as a number times a power of 10 that is equal but not in standard form. Students sort the cards into four groups of four that are equal, write the letters in each group, then write the group as an ordinary number.

Every value is built from the digits 3 and 2, so students have to read the power carefully rather than match the digits. The deliberate traps: 3.2 × 10⁴ against 3.2 × 10⁻⁴, and cards such as 32 × 10⁵ and 0.32 × 10⁵ that are equal to one of the values but are not in standard form.

Answers are included as a separate file. Two per A4.

Suitable for GCSE Foundation (AQA N9) and for Key Stage 3 classes working on standard form.

AI was used to help create this resource, working from my own lesson design.